Chapter 8, Coffin

As they spoke, they had already arrived at the old man's house from last night. Upon entering, they saw steamed buns, rice porridge, and bowls and chopsticks laid out on the table. The old man's lifeless eyes scanned the crowd: "Everyone worked hard last night, so let's have breakfast first. There is not much work to do during the day, so you can all take a rest. When night falls, come back here, and I will arrange tonight's tasks for everyone."

"So can that damned god and ghost insult people?" Ke Xun said helplessly

"Can you wander around? Aren't you afraid of encountering something?" Wei Dong asked

"Go outside for a walk and look for clues," Mu Yiran replied in a low voice

A poorly prepared meal quickly came to an end, and Mu Yiran stood up and walked outside

"Is everything really fine?" Ke Xun sat down beside him, watching as he elegantly scooped a spoonful of porridge and brought it to his mouth

"Then why must the villagers keep vigil?" Ke Xun asked

After everyone had conducted their inspection, there were no exciting discoveries. Looking at the sky, although it was overcast and gloomy, it was clear that it was already bright outside. Thus, they closed the main door and walked out into the courtyard.

Ke Xun continued to look at Mu Yiran and said, "What is wrong with your complexion? Is there feces in the porridge?"

Ke Xun had a meal and counted the heads of the people in the room, discovering that indeed two who had gone to dig graves yesterday were missing: "How do you know those two are dead?"

Mu Yiran's gaze shifted to his face: "The family of the deceased."

Liu Yufei, who was sitting next to us, interjected sarcastically: "Don't worry about eating. If the food were poisoned, there would be no need to create so much fuss to torment us. They could just throw us in a room and let us starve for a month; no one would survive."

This almost made me vomit on the spot

Liu Yufei, sitting next to him, stirred the watery rice porridge in his bowl with a spoon in disgust while continuing to speak to Ke Xun: "His complexion doesn't look good; I guess it's because those two who went to dig the grave are dead."

Based on the content reflected in the painting, there should be no issues during the day, "Mu Yiran said, "Moreover, the old man did not mention anything about prohibiting going outside in his earlier speech, so there should be no problems.

Having finished speaking, the old man turned around and entered the inner room

Ke Xun recalled that the old man had instructed him last night to gather at his place at 8 o'clock this morning, so he called Wei Dong, who had been waiting in the courtyard.

As soon as I stepped out of the hospital, I saw the pancake stall owner sitting on the ground in despair, his face drenched, though it was unclear whether it was sweat or tears.

Ke Xun immediately recalled the scene from last night when he was pinned to the ground by this person, unable to resist, and said to him: "Stop messing around, eat quickly"

Ke Xun asked Wei Dong: "What does it mean to return to the original place no matter how one runs?"

It seems that something is missing, said Ke Xun, gazing at the few people walking ahead.

Weidong finally recalled what Liu Yufei had said to him last night. He had previously tugged at the pancake stall owner's sleeve and said, "Stop doing useless things. You can't escape from this place; no matter where you run, you'll ultimately return to the starting point. It's better to stick with everyone; perhaps today you'll find a way back."

In the desolate land, the cries of the cold crows are piercing; after circling a few times, they settle beside a mound of earth

The pancake stall owner rose in a daze, following the crowd's footsteps like a puppet

Just by looking at this face, one really cannot tell that this person possesses the attributes of being thick-skinned and foolish

The taste of this meal is truly indescribable; the congee is cold, the buns are hard, a few pickled vegetable sticks are covered with white mold, and the filling of the buns is unidentifiable, tasting like grass with a hint of manure.

Ke Xun pulled Wei Dong along and asked: "Where are we going?"

To the north of the village lies a barren land, and further away, there remains an endless expanse of indistinct chaos

Mu Yiran ignored him, striding out of the courtyard with long legs, heading straight towards the northern part of the village

Ke Xunwei Dong followed Mu Yiran and walked over briskly, but he saw two corpses beside the earthen mound

Ke Xun briefly explained to him, then raised his eyes to see Mu Yiran walking ahead. He quickened his pace to catch up and asked him, "Little Brother Mu, tell me, what did you discover in the mourning hall at that time?"

Mu Yiran looked at him with a gaze of disbelief, saying: "In the culture of deities and spirits in China, neither gods nor ghosts may be insulted"

"Who?" Ke Xun looked at him

This "obsession" is quite significant, usually accompanied by a frenzied promotion—one can assume that there has been no shortage of recommendations regarding the knowledge of wood.

She pressed her lips together, and Mu Yiran averted her gaze, speaking softly: "The wood of that coffin has issues. The materials typically used for making coffins are often a mix of nanmu, paulownia, pine, or a combination of cedar and cypress, but the coffin in the mourning hall is made of pure cypress wood, without any admixture of other types of wood"

So?" Ke Xun looked at him

I am from the Department of Physical Education," Ke Xun said without a hint of shame on his face, "By the way, does the book teach you how to identify coffin wood?

What have you observed in that room?" Wei Dong asked

Mu Yiran's gaze flickered slightly: "The second protagonist in the funeral ceremony is missing"

Ke Xun suddenly realized: "That's right, last night in that courtyard, apart from us, there were no other characters. Wait, could it be that the three people who might die are the deceased's family members"

Mu Yiran nodded slightly: "It can be said this way. Therefore, using pure willow wood and pure cypress wood to make coffins is a funeral taboo. In places with related customs, such mistakes are usually not made."

No. Mu Yiran pointed with his chin at the few people walking ahead, "Our attire is all the same. If they were the deceased's family, they should be in deep mourning, or at the very least, their clothing would not be identical. Based on the arrangements made for us at that old man's house last night, we should be considered 'villagers'."

He reached out and grabbed two buns, handing one to Master Mu in a very obsequious manner. Master Mu ignored him, and it was snatched away by Wei Dong.

Mu Yiran lowered his gaze, seemingly in contemplation: "Even if it is a painting, the content must adhere to logic, and if it is a realistic painting, it must be grounded in reality. Once we enter the painting, we become part of the roles within it. Among them are the guardians of the spirit, the woodcutters, those who guard the granaries, those who oversee the storerooms, and those who dig graves..."

We will go with you. Ke Xun decided to hold onto the big shot's thigh tightly and not let go

Ke Xun: "... ... A curse? Impressive. What is the reason for this?"

In some sparsely populated villages, when a household holds a wedding or funeral, the entire village must go to help

Mu Yiran said softly: "If you find the answers to these questions, you will probably be able to leave here."

Mu Yiran lowered his gaze to the face before him. The person's messy short hair gave off a somewhat lazy and unruly appearance, yet beneath the strikingly beautiful, bold eyebrows lay a pair of eyes that were particularly pure and earnest, starkly contrasting in black and white, sparkling with a clear light in every glance.

"The explanation is intentional," Mu Yiran glanced back with profound meaning, "Knowing yet deliberately committing such an act, there is probably only one possibility for this behavior, which is to transform a taboo into a curse"

"Alright, then I won't burn it. " Ke Xun said, shrugging his shoulders, "What if I were to draw a turtle, a bastard, or a goat beard on their faces?"

Ke Xun then asked, "Could it be that you, Brother Mu, come from a humble farming background?"

"Close your eyes and look away." Ke Xun stood in front of him, not really wanting to see the condition of the two corpses, but he noticed Mu Yiran directly walked up close, lowered his head, and carefully examined the bodies. Despite feeling uncomfortable, he also forced himself to take a couple of glances at the corpses.

"Damn it," Wei Dong muttered beside him, "we've already broken five in one night. At this rate, how many will we have left after today?"

In certain regions of China, the funeral culture dictates that pure willow or pure cypress wood is prohibited for making coffins. Mu Yiran spoke in a low voice, "It is an old custom that willow trees do not bear seeds, and using them as coffin wood would lead to a lack of descendants. On the other hand, making coffins from pure cypress wood would incur divine punishment."

"... ... truly desperate." Ke Xun sighed

Mu Yiran appeared somewhat reluctant to answer, yet seemed afraid of being pestered by Ke Xun, so he could only respond with some difficulty: "I have a friend who is obsessed with woodworking."

"Heaven strikes?" Ke Xun raised his eyebrows, "Heaven strikes with thunder?"

"What will happen, I do not know," Mu Yiran said coldly as he glanced at him, "The last person who did something similar suffered an exceptionally brutal backlash"

Ke Xun was pondering whether the food on the table might be poisoned, but he noticed that two or three people had already walked over, sat down, and started eating. Ke Xun glanced at Mu Yiran, who appeared somewhat solemn, yet he also walked towards the table and served himself a bowl of porridge

Mu Yiran shot him a cold glance: "I wish you could die in an instant to fulfill your wish."

"Then why haven't the deceased's family appeared?" Ke redirected the conversation, "The deceased was cursed with a cypress coffin, and the family has nothing to say? Who made the coffin for the deceased?"

Mu Yiran coldly looked at him and said: "Read more books"

Ke Xun turned to glance at the Li family residence, which had already fallen far behind: "But this family has committed a taboo, which indicates ... ... "

Because that old man did not wait for those two to return before letting us eat," Liu Yufei pointed to the inner room, "if those two were still alive, the old man would have waited for everyone to be present before saying what he just said

Weidong pointed to the distant, misty depths: "Liu Yufei said that no matter which direction you run, you will ultimately return to your starting point. It's like a painting in front of you, where a person runs to the left side of the frame, and as they run out of the frame, they reappear on the right side of the frame, then run back to their original position. Do you understand? In any case, no matter how you run, you cannot escape the frame." In any case, no matter how you run, you cannot escape the frame.

No one responded to his words, they simply continued to eat in silence. Some appeared numb, some seemed to be deep in thought, while others looked utterly dejected

Mu Yiran closed his eyes for a moment, and Ke Xun, despite the cold and stern expression on his face like an ice mountain, discerned a hint of helplessness. Unconsciously, her brows softened, and without pressing for answers, she simply tilted her head to look at him, waiting quietly.

However, no matter how unpalatable it is, one must eat, otherwise it is uncertain how long one's stamina can be sustained

Wei Dong shouted loudly, then sat down abruptly on the ground. After that, he used both his hands and buttocks to retreat continuously for seven or eight meters before coming to a stop, trembling as he pointed at the corpse